Goodbye Yellow Pages… S’long Print Media?

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Raife Wieland

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2018 marks the end of an era – Why? Yell has announced that it will print its iconic Yellow Pages for the very last time, revealing the first of the 104 final editions will be distributed in January 2019 across Kingston, with Brighton pinpointed as the last leg of the tour.

Aside from mourning its popular TV ads [Literally, Christmas will not be the same], Yell’s announcement has got our tails wagging here at Climb Online, showcasing just how ‘digital’ modern society has become, as this famous yellow book transitions to a ‘purely digital business’.

Remember, Yell’s digital directory, Yell.com, is the UK’s leading online business directory – and in turn, a key part of any affective off-site SEO strategy.

So, whether you’re surprised it took Yell quite this long to remove its declining yellow book, or you feel saddened by the prospect of it, this announcement is representative of one clear thing: The continuous growth of digital channels, and resulting decline in print media.

The Decline of Print Media

The decline in print media has been on our radar for years now, confirmed by telling reports such as that published by The Guardian online, entitled “Suddenly, newspapers are heading for that print cliff fall”. Here key stats such as an increase in digital advertising revenue for the Mail Online, compared to a 29% fall in print profits suggest Print Media is brinking on that ‘cliff fall’.

From KPIs focused on click-bait, pressure to create content sure to go viral, and a clear presence on social media channels, the digital world has never been so significant to the Media, and in turn to Digital Marketing specialists.

You see, Journalists and Digital Marketing specialists actually work towards similar goals, and in the majority hand-in-hand – where both aim to create compelling and enticing content that will engage target audiences, drive website traffic and aid that all important page-1 position within the SERPs.

PR & SEO … The Star-crossed Lovers of Digital

The good news? Climb Online have known this for years, and boast our very own online outreaching team that combine the realms of PR and SEO to create effective digital marketing strategies that really work.

From the development of that genius PR idea and creation of compelling press releases, to reaching out to high authority news outlets and securing backlinks to our clients’ websites, we’ve got it covered and, more to the point, we’ve got the results to prove it.

OK, so the Yellow Pages announcement may have ignited that slight feeling of nostalgia [for those of us old enough to remember actually using it], but it’s transition into a purely digital business is actually representative of today’s tech-savvy society, where the power of search engines, and digital media has never been so important… and that to us, at Climb Online HQ, is certainly something to be excited about.

Interested in finding out more about our industry leading SEO campaigns? For a limited time only, Climb Online are offering a free no obligation digital audit – Contact Raife Wieland via email at [email protected] for more information.